Since the early 1980s the cellular telephone industry has seen very dramatic growth. Competitive market prices have made it affordable for larger and larger segments of the American population to own a cellular telephone of one type or another. At the commencement of this expansive growth in the cellular telephone industry the most popular type of cellular phone came with its own platform for mounting the phone in the passenger compartment of the phone owner's vehicle. While this innovation in telephonic technology allowed many people to remain in touch with their business or families, the limitation of vehicle mounting still made it impractical for most individuals to own a cellular phone. With further advances in technology the cellular phone soon became transportable in a storage bag allowing free movement outside the vehicle. From the storage bag the phone progressed to a totally independent unit, with the battery and communication equipment compacted into a single hand unit about the size of a standard household handset. The most recent innovations have reduced the hand unit size so as to be able to fit in a person's pocket, briefcase or handbag while retaining all the advantages of their larger ancestors.
This size advantage for the smaller independent units turns into a disadvantage for use in the owner's vehicle, the same place the whole cellular revolution started. As the cellular telephone market moved toward independent hand units and away from being simply car phones, there was less need for phone owners to fit the passenger compartments of their vehicles with a phone mounting platform. This trend has resulted in many modern styles of cellular phones which are not designed for vehicle mounting. The obvious consequence of this development becomes apparent when a phone owner needs to answer or place a call while operating their vehicle. Since there is no longer any phone platform, the phone owner must reach for a phone unit that may have shifted or otherwise moved, during vehicle movement, to an inconvenient location for the phone owner to reach while operating the vehicle. Thus, a need has developed for a phone platform capable of securely holding a wide variety of today's platformless cellular telephones while the phone owner operates his vehicle.
One prior art attempt at a solution to this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,381 issued Apr. 19, 1994 to Wang et al. This patent describes a telephone cradle with two walls extending outward from a base for clamping and holding a cellular telephone on the base. Each wall has a cushion for holding the telephone firmly. The walls are spring loaded and in communication with a ratchet which must be released and finger pressure applied to retract the walls.
A telephone cradle is typically mounted within a vehicle at a location within reach of a vehicle occupant such as the vehicle driver. Thus, the location of a telephone cradle is also well suited for temporarily securing other objects such as a beverage container including a cup, can or bottle.